Domain names and SEO: Everything you need to know!

The two most frequently asked questions that business owners ask in the context of SEO when buying a domain name are:

1. Do domain names affect SEO?

2. How do new domains help with search rankings?

In this post, we’ll solve the mystery sans the complicated jargon.

A new website is like a blank slate in the eyes of Google and other search engines. This website is treated the same way as any other new site. According to Google, two newly registered domain names are given equal weight when it comes to search rankings, provided everything else is identical.

For example, www.laptops123-new.com will be considered equal to www.laptop.store as long as both have relevant content, authentic info and credible backlinks.

So, the question still stands…

Do domain names affect SEO?

In a way, yes, they do. A study on the impact of new domains on SEO suggests that choosing a keyword-rich domain name help websites get on-topic backlinks on those keywords. This is good news for those who want to be discovered organically. For example, if www.kindle.store gets backlinks on the anchor text ‘kindle store’, then overtime it helps the website rank for the keywords ‘kindle store’.

However, it is important to note that new domain extensions alone don’t affect SEO. Search engines consider multiple ranking factors to place one website over another in the search results. Moreover, these factors are only going to increase with the incursion of Artificial Intelligence and Voice Search affecting algorithms and search.

How do new domains help with search rankings?

New domain extensions such as .tech, .store, .press, .fun, .space, .website, etc help businesses get keyword-rich domain names that are relevant to the business and the industry they belong to. For instance, domains such as www.emirates.store or www.freedom.press make it easier for the users to guess what the website might have to offer, thus making the domains more memorable and trustworthy. This further helps them get clicks when they start showing up in organic search results. And as they say, the more web traffic you get, the more web traffic you get.

Let’s take a deeper look at how new domains can actually help a website rank:

1. On-Topic Backlinks

A study from Stone Temple indicates that backlinks from reputed, credible websites help in improving SEO rankings. One of the aspects of backlinks that further helps with the rankings is anchor text (the blue, underlined, clickable text in a hyperlink). The more relevant the anchor text is to the link it is supporting, the better it is for the SEO.

For example, if the anchor text ‘Halloween store’ redirects to www.halloween.store, it sends a positive signal to the search engines about the authenticity of the website.

2. User perception

A web page, even the ones that look like www.smartphone-49.html can rank well in organic search results if the content on the website and other factors affecting SEO are met. However, if www.smartphone-49.html showed up in your search results, would you click on it? Chances are you won’t because it may come across as spammy. On the other hand, a domain name such as www.smartphone.store will seem more credible and will encourage users to click on it.

Keyword rich domain names help in building a positive brand connection with the user. Search engines care about people. So, if people like a website, search engines will like it too.

3. Voice search

We’re slowly moving into the era of voice search, which means it is imperative that domain names are easily understood by virtual search assistants such as Alexa and Siri. New domain extensions give businesses the benefit of having domain names that are short and easy to understand by these artificial assistants.

For instance, if you ask Siri (or Alexa) to visit www.new-bagz.com, they may miss it. But if you ask them to go to www.newbags.store chances of landing on the right website are high. The more searchable the domain name, the easier it will be for customers to find it. This means that whatever domain name businesses choose, they don’t need to compromise on it by adding extra letters, numerics, hyphens or replacing ss with zz. New domain extensions make this simpler because, unlike legacy domain extensions, a large inventory of brandable, keyword rich domain names on new extensions are easily available.

Conclusion

Building and maintaining SEO wealth for a website is a slow process however new domain extensions can make that process easier. To know more about how new domains help in building a website’s SEO, check out this report: https://newdomains.online/seo/

About Amrita

Amrita is a marketing specialist by profession who loves writing, music and animals.